Mail-shears.



PATENTED MAR. 22, 1904.

H. Q. HOOD. MAIL SHEARS. APPLIOATIOK Hum JULY so, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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Witnesses awWM Attorney UNITED STATES Patented March 22, 1204.

HIRAM Q. HOOD, OF CARTHAGE, MISSOURI.

MAIL-SHEARS- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 755,492, dated March. 22, 1904:- Applioation filed July 30, 1903. Serial No. 167,647. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HIRAM Q. HOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Carthage, in the county of Jasper and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Shears; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in shears especially adapted for use in cutting oif the ends of envelops when opening mail and provided with means to prevent an excessive portion of the envelop from being cut so as to injure the letter or other inclosure therein; and my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pair of shears embodying my improvements, showing the blades open. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the blades closed, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the plane indicated by line a a of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment of my invention here shown the shears A are of the usual form, having blades B O pivotally connected together, as at D, and provided, respectively, with the handles E F.

On the outer side of the blade B, I secure a guard 1, which is made of a piece of sheet metal, preferably iron or steel, and is here shown as secured to the blade B by means of screws or rivets 2. The said guard may be otherwise secured to one blade of the shears, and I do not desire to limit myself in this particular. The guard 1 is substantially triangular in form, with its outer edge or base preferably curved, as at 3, and the guard is provided at its outer corner opposite its edge which is secured to the blade B with a lateral offset 4, which forms astop adapted to coact with the outer end of the blade O to limit the extent to which the latter may be opened from the blade B. The inner side of the guardplate 1 is spaced from the coacting cutting edges of the blades to an extent equal to the thickness of the blade B, as shown in Fig. 3, and it will be understood that when cutting the end of an envelop the same would be inserted between the edges of the blades B C from the side opposite that on which the guardplate 1 is placed, so that the end of the en velop will engage the guard-plate, and hence the guard-plate will form a gage which will prevent an excessive portion of the envelop from being cut off by the shears.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, operation, and advantages of my invention will be readily apparent, it is thought, without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by-Letters Patent of the United States, is

A guard-plate for mail-shears, substantially triangular in form, having means whereby it may be secured to the outer side of one blade of a pair of shears, and provided at one of its outer corners with a lateral outturned portion forming a stop to coact with the other blade for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HIRAM Q. HO OD. 

